1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mounting construction modification for a hollow fiber permselective device, which results in greater product flow and lower salt passage over the life of the permeator.
2. PRIOR ART
J. F. McNamara et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,658, discloses permeation separation devices of the type using permeable capillaries, the open ends of which are embedded in a cast tube sheet which in turn is supported against a support block. The design involves the use of expensive castings and is not used commercially.
More recent reverse osmosis devices which use capillaries or tubes as the separation medium use a straight sided tubular housing (a pipe) with internal annular grooves near the ends of the housing adapted to hold the internal members of the device in place. In this type of construction, the tube sheet and support block are slidably mounted on a central shaft which normally is hollow and serves as the feedwater distribution means.